EP1627744B1 - Circuit imprimé pour tête d'impression à jet d'encre, procédé de sa fabrication, et tête d'impression à jet d'encre l'utilisant - Google Patents

Circuit imprimé pour tête d'impression à jet d'encre, procédé de sa fabrication, et tête d'impression à jet d'encre l'utilisant Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1627744B1
EP1627744B1 EP05017619A EP05017619A EP1627744B1 EP 1627744 B1 EP1627744 B1 EP 1627744B1 EP 05017619 A EP05017619 A EP 05017619A EP 05017619 A EP05017619 A EP 05017619A EP 1627744 B1 EP1627744 B1 EP 1627744B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
electrodes
ink jet
layer
jet head
circuit board
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
EP05017619A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP1627744A1 (fr
Inventor
Kazuaki Shibata
Sakai Yokoyama
Kenji Ono
Teruo Ozaki
Satoshi Ibe
Ichiro Saito
Toshiyasu Sakai
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Canon Inc
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Canon Inc
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Publication date
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Publication of EP1627744A1 publication Critical patent/EP1627744A1/fr
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2/14072—Electrical connections, e.g. details on electrodes, connecting the chip to the outside...
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/14—Structure thereof only for on-demand ink jet heads
    • B41J2/14016—Structure of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2/14088—Structure of heating means
    • B41J2/14112—Resistive element
    • B41J2/14129—Layer structure
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1601—Production of bubble jet print heads
    • B41J2/1603—Production of bubble jet print heads of the front shooter type
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1626—Manufacturing processes etching
    • B41J2/1628—Manufacturing processes etching dry etching
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/135—Nozzles
    • B41J2/16—Production of nozzles
    • B41J2/1621—Manufacturing processes
    • B41J2/1626—Manufacturing processes etching
    • B41J2/1629—Manufacturing processes etching wet etching

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a circuit board for an ink jet head that ejects ink for printing, a method of manufacturing the circuit board, and an ink jet head using the circuit board.
  • An ink jet printing system has an advantage of low running cost because an ink jet head as a printing means can easily be reduced in size, print a high-resolution image at high speed and even form an image on so-called plain paper that is not given any particular treatment.
  • Other advantages include low noise that is achieved by a non-impact printing system employed by the print head and an ability of the print head to easily perform color printing using multiple color inks.
  • ink jet heads using thermal energy to eject ink such as those disclosed in US Patent Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796 , generally have a construction in which a plurality of heaters to heat ink to generate a bubble in ink and wires for heater electrical connection are formed in one and the same substrate to fabricate an ink jet head circuit board and in which ink ejection nozzles are formed in the circuit board on their associated heaters (See also EP 0 768 182 ).
  • This construction allows for easy and high-precision manufacture, through a process similar to a semiconductor fabrication process, of an ink jet head circuit board incorporating a large number of heaters and wires at high density. This helps to realize higher print resolution and faster printing speed, which in turn contributes to a further reduction in size of the ink jet head and a printing apparatus using it.
  • Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are a schematic plan view of a heater in a general ink jet head circuit board and a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1 .
  • a resistor layer 107 as a lower layer, over which an electrode wire layer 103 is formed as an upper layer. A part of the electrode wire layer 103 is removed to expose the resistor layer 107 to form a heater 102.
  • Electrode wire patterns 205, 207 are wired on the substrate 120 and connected to a drive element circuit and external power supply terminals for supply of electricity from outside.
  • the resistor layer 107 is formed of a material with high electric resistance. Supplying an electric current from outside to the electrode wire layer 103 causes the heater 102, a portion where no electrode wire layer 103 exists, to generate heat energy creating a bubble in ink.
  • Materials of the electrode wire layer 103 mainly include aluminum or aluminum alloy.
  • the ink jet head circuit board employs a protective layer deposited on the heater only to ensure a reduced consumption of electricity by reducing applied electrical energy but also to prevent possible mechanical damages caused by cavitations from repeated creation and collapse of bubbles in ink and also prevent a reduced longevity of the circuit board which may be caused by the heater 102 being broken as they are repetitively applied electric pulse energy for heating.
  • the protective layer when viewed from a standpoint of heat or energy efficiency, preferably has a high heat conductivity or is formed thin. On the other hand, the protective layer has a function of protecting electrode wires leading to the heaters 102 from ink. In terms of a probability of defects occurring in layers during the circuit board fabrication process, it is advantageous to increase the thickness of the protective layer. Therefore, to make a balanced tradeoff between energy efficiency and reliability, the protective layer is set to an appropriate thickness.
  • the protective layer is subject to mechanical damages from cavitations caused by creation of bubbles in ink and also to chemical damages caused by chemical reactions between ink components and materials making up the protective layer at high temperatures to which the protective layer's surface in contact with the heater rises immediately after bubbles are formed.
  • the function to insulate and protect the wires from ink and the function to protect against mechanical and chemical damages are difficult to achieve at the same time. It is therefore a common practice to form the protective layer on the ink jet head circuit board in a two-layer structure, and to form as an upper layer, a highly stable layer capable of withstanding mechanical and chemical damages and, as a lower layer, a protective insulation layer to protect the wires.
  • a Ta layer with very high mechanical and chemical stability and, as the lower layer, a SiN or SiO layer which is stable and easy to deposit using the existing semiconductor fabrication equipment.
  • a SiN layer is deposited on the wires to a thickness of about 0.2-1 ⁇ m as the lower protective layer (protective insulation layer) 108 and then, as the upper protective layer (generally called an anticavitation layer because of its capability to resist possible damages from cavitations) 110, a Ta layer is deposited to a thickness of 0.2-0.5 ⁇ m.
  • Ink jet printers as they proliferate, are facing increasing demands for higher printing resolution, higher image quality and faster printing speed.
  • One of solutions to the demands for higher resolution and image quality involves reducing an amount of ink ejected to form a dot (or a diameter of an ink droplet when ink is ejected in the form of droplets).
  • the requirement for reducing the ink ejection volume has conventionally been dealt with by changing the shape of nozzles (reducing orifice areas) and reducing the area of heater (width W x length L in Fig. 1 ).
  • the relative effect of heater size variations becomes more significant. This constitutes one of factors calling for improved precision of electrode wire patterning at the locations of heater.
  • the resistance of electrode wires is reduced by increasing the width of the electrode wires formed on a circuit board.
  • the number of heaters formed in the circuit board is very large and there is a growing trend for reducing the area of individual heaters, it is becoming more and more difficult to secure enough space to allow the electrode wires to be increased in width without increasing the size of the circuit board.
  • increasing the width of electrode wires imposes limitations on high-density integration of small-area heaters or nozzles.
  • an electrode wire layer 103' is etched away to expose a resistor layer.
  • the electrode wire layer 103' is wet-etched into a tapered shape. Since the wet etching proceeds isotropically, errors caused by etching, particularly dimensional tolerance in the longitudinal direction of the heater 102, are proportional to the thickness of the electrode wire layer 103'.
  • Fig. 3 shows a relation between a thickness of aluminum electrode wire layer and a dimensional tolerance in a direction L, with abscissa representing a multiplication factor of a thickness of 0.3 ⁇ m (300 nm) and ordinate representing a dimensional tolerance ( ⁇ m).
  • abscissa representing a multiplication factor of a thickness of 0.3 ⁇ m (300 nm) and ordinate representing a dimensional tolerance ( ⁇ m).
  • the present invention has been accomplished to overcome the above problems and it is a primary object of this invention to make it possible to form heaters with high precision and thereby meet the demand for increased resistance of resistors and reduced heater areas, thus contributing to reduced consumption of electricity, improved heat efficiency, and higher printing resolution and higher image quality.
  • the heater can be formed in each of gaps of a first electrode layer whose thickness is reduced, dimensional variations among the heaters can be made small, improving the step coverage of the resistor layer and the overlying protective layers. This makes it possible to meet the demands for higher resistance of resistors and smaller heater areas, which in turn contributes to reducing consumption of electricity, improving heat efficiency, and enhancing printing resolution and image quality. As a result, the circuit board and ink jet head have improved reliability and durability.
  • Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a heater in an ink jet head circuit board according to the first embodiment of the invention, taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1 .
  • components that function in the same way as those in Fig. 2 are given like reference numbers.
  • a pair of electrodes 101 spaced a desired distance apart are placed on a substrate 120 through an insulation layer 106.
  • the electrodes 101 are made of a corrosion resistant metal.
  • an electrode wire layer 103 made of aluminum or an alloy containing aluminum which has a gap wider than the gap of the electrodes 101.
  • the electrode wire layer 103 is electrically connected to the electrode wires 101.
  • a resistor layer 107 is deposited over these layers. That is, a heater 102 is formed in the gap of the electrodes 101 and its dimension is defined by the gap.
  • the electrode wire layer 103 is wired over the substrate 120 and connected to a drive element circuit and external power supply terminals. The ends of the electrode wire layer 103 are situated on the electrodes 101.
  • the electrodes 101 that form the heater 102 and define its dimension are called a first electrode and the electrode wire layer 103 a second electrode.
  • a substrate (not shown) formed of silicon as in Fig. 2 is prepared and deposited with an insulation layer 106.
  • the substrate may have prefabricated in a ⁇ 100> Si substrate a drive circuit, made up of semiconductor elements such as switching transistors, to selectively drive the heaters 102.
  • a corrosion resistant metal such as Ta layer, is sputtered to a thickness of 100 nm and then patterned into a desired shape to form the first electrodes 101.
  • an aluminum layer for the second electrode 103 is deposited to a thickness of about 350-600 nm, as shown in Fig. 5B .
  • This is followed by applying a resist in a desired pattern using photolithography and then performing a reactive ion etching (RIE) using a gas mixture of, say, BCl 3 and Cl 2 to form the second electrode 103 into a desired pattern.
  • RIE reactive ion etching
  • a resist of a desired shape is applied using photolithography and the aluminum layer is etched away by a wet etching using phosphoric acid as a main component.
  • a layer 107 of, for instance, TaSiN to form a resistor is sputtered to a thickness of about 50 nm. Then, a resist is applied in a desired pattern using photolithography and a reactive ion etching using a gas mixture of, say, BCl 3 and Cl 2 is performed to form the layer 107 into a desired pattern.
  • a protective insulation layer 108 of SiN is deposited by plasma CVD to a thickness of about 300 nm at about 400°C.
  • Ta is sputtered to a thickness of about 200 nm. Then, it is covered with a desired shape of resist using photolithography, and then the Ta layer is etched into a desired pattern by reactive dry etching using CF 4 . Now, an ink jet head circuit board as shown in Fig. 4 is obtained.
  • the ink jet head circuit board fabricated by the above process has formed on the substrate a pair of first electrodes spaced a first gap from each other and having a heater formed in the first gap; a pair of second electrodes having a second gap wider than the first gap and overlapping the paired first electrodes; and a resistor layer formed on these electrodes.
  • the first electrodes are made of a corrosion resistant metal. This construction produces the following notable effects.
  • the first electrodes 101 can be reduced in thickness while preventing a sudden increase in wire resistance. Since the heater 102 is formed between the first electrodes 101, the dimensional variations of the heaters can be made small and a step coverage capability of the resistor layer and the overlying protective layers (108, 110) can be improved. Further, when the second electrodes are patterned using a wet etching method, this is done outside the heater 102. This prevents heater dimensions from being affected by the patterning process of the second electrodes. If the step coverage is not sufficient, it does not adversely affect heater resistance variations. Therefore, the heaters can be formed with high precision, which in turn helps meet the demand for increased resistance of the resistors and for reduced areas of the heaters. Furthermore, the improved step coverage of the protective layer results in higher reliability and durability.
  • a resistor layer is formed as an underlying layer of the first electrodes 101.
  • the material of the first electrode differ from that of the resistor layer (e.g., when the resistor layer 107 is formed of Ta or an alloy containing Ta, the first electrodes 101 may be made of a corrosion resistant metal other than at least Ta or an alloy containing Ta). Therefore, in forming the heater with high precision and increasing the degree of freedom of material selection, it is advantageous to form the resistor layer over the first electrodes 101 as in this embodiment.
  • the second electrodes 103 made of aluminum do not immediately face the heater 102, if repetitive energization of the heater 102 should result in a failure of a protective layer above or near the heater 102, there is a reduced possibility of the second electrodes 103 being encroached upon. This in turn makes corrosions along the wires less likely to occur.
  • the resistor layer is generally made of a material more resistant to encroachment than aluminum, and a material of the first electrodes is selected from among corrosion resistant metals. Therefore, should defects occur in a protective layer above or near the heater 102, a corrosion can be prevented more effectively than in the construction shown in Fig. 2 .
  • the ink jet head is often arranged for a block driving by which a predetermined number of heaters are commonly wired and energized as a unit block at one time.
  • a wire failure even at one point will cause corrosions to spread to the entire block. This embodiment, however, can substantially reduce the possibility of occurrence of such a grave problem.
  • the thickness of the first electrodes can be determined in a range that produces a desired effect without departing from the spirit of this invention. That is, in order to be able to form the heater with high dimensional precision and give the protective layer a good step coverage, the thickness of the first electrodes is preferably equal to or less than 100 nm.
  • the corrosion resistant metals that may be used for the first electrodes include Ta, its alloy, Pt, its alloy and TiW. Appropriate processing can be performed according to the material selected.
  • the dry etching method such as RIE using a gas mixture of Cl 2 and BCl 3 is performed.
  • the dry etching can cause an overetch and reduce the thickness of the insulation layer 106 between the first electrodes, forming a step greater than the thickness of the first electrodes. This causes resistance variations among heaters and degrades the step coverage of the resistor layer 107 or the protective layers (108, 110).
  • the effects of overetching may be suppressed by first forming a SiC layer 210, which offers a higher etching selectivity than the SiO layer, as an underlying layer for the first electrodes 101, before depositing the first electrodes, as shown in Fig. 6 .
  • the etching selectivity with respect to the underlying insulation layer 106 can be improved if a water solution of hydrogen peroxide is used as an etching liquid. That is, since the magnitude by which the insulation layer 106 between the first electrodes is reduced in thickness becomes small, the resistor layer 107 or the protective layers (108, 110) that are subsequently formed have an improved step coverage, enhancing reliability of the circuit board and head.
  • the ink jet heads that use thermal energy for ink ejection are under growing market pressure to increase the number of nozzles, make them smaller and integrate them at higher density in order to meet the demands for higher printing resolution, higher image quality and faster printing speed.
  • a resistance of electrode wires connected to resistors be reduced. Normally, the resistance of electrode wires is reduced by increasing the width of the electrode wires formed on the substrate.
  • the number of energy generation components formed on the substrate becomes very large for the reasons described above, a sufficient space to allow the electrode wires to be increased in width cannot be secured without increasing the size of the circuit board.
  • a wire pattern 205N for a heater 102N near a terminal 205T located at an end of the circuit board (not shown) has a width W in its wire portion extending in Y direction.
  • a wire pattern 205F for a heater 102F remote from the terminal 205T has a width W (x>1) in its wire portion extending in Y direction in the figure. This is because the distance from the terminal 205T to each heater, i.e., the length of wire, is not uniform and its resistance varies according to the distance from the terminal 205T.
  • the circuit board is required to have an area that matches the sum of the widths of wire portions for individual heaters (the farther the heater is from the terminal, the larger the width of the associated wire portion becomes).
  • the size of the circuit board in X direction increases even more significantly, pushing up the cost and limiting the number of heaters that can be integrated.
  • increasing the width in Y direction to reduce the wire resistance can impose limitations on the intervals of heaters or the high density arrangement of nozzles.
  • the inventors of this invention studied a construction in which the electrode wires are formed in a plurality of stacking layers with a protective layer in between to prevent an increase in the size of the substrate or circuit board and realize a high density integration of the heaters.
  • the wire pattern 205N for the heater 102N near the terminal 205T and the wire pattern 205F1 in direct vicinity of the heater 102F, which is remote from the terminal 205T, are both formed of the lower layer or the first electrode wire layer, and a wire portion 205F2 extending in Y direction to the wire portion 205F1 is formed of the upper layer or the second electrode wire layer, with the ends of the wire portion 205F2 connected to the terminal 205T and the wire portion 205F1 via through-holes.
  • the circuit board is only required to have an area large enough to accommodate the width (x ⁇ W) of the upper wire portion 205F2, making it possible to reduce the surface area of the circuit board while reducing or equalizing the wire resistance.
  • the second embodiment of this invention adopts a construction that further reduces or equalizes the wire resistances.
  • Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a heater in the ink jet head circuit board according to the second embodiment of this invention.
  • components that function in the same way as those of the first embodiment are assigned like reference numbers.
  • an electrode wire layer 104 is formed, with a protective insulation layer 109 interposed therebetween.
  • the second electrodes and the electrode wire layer are interconnected via a through-hole. Since the electrode wires are formed in multiple layers, the resistances of wires leading to the heaters can be reduced and equalized among the heaters without increasing the area of the electrode wires on the circuit board.
  • the circuit board of the above construction can be manufactured as follows.
  • the insulation layer 106, the first electrodes 101 and the resistor layer 107 are successively deposited on the substrate to form the heater 102. This is followed by the second electrode 103 being deposited.
  • a protective insulation layer 109 which is then etched away from above and from outside the heater 102, with the resistor layer 107 as an etch stopper.
  • the through-hole is formed in the protective insulation layer as necessary to connect the second electrode 103 and the electrode wire layer 104 to be formed later.
  • the electrode wire layer 104 is formed and patterned and subsequently covered with protective layers 108, 110.
  • Fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet head.
  • This ink jet head has a circuit board 1 incorporating two parallel columns of heaters 102 arrayed at a predetermined pitch.
  • two circuit boards manufactured by the above process may be combined so that their edge portions where the heaters 102 are arrayed are opposed to each other, thus forming the two parallel columns of heaters 102.
  • the above manufacturing process may be performed on a single circuit board to form two parallel columns of heaters in the board.
  • the circuit board 1 is joined with an orifice plate 4 to form an ink jet head 410.
  • the orifice plate has formed therein ink ejection openings or nozzles 5 corresponding to the heaters 102, a liquid chamber (not shown) to store ink introduced from outside, ink supply ports 9 matched one-to-one to the nozzles 5 to supply ink from the liquid chamber to the nozzles, and a path communicating with the nozzles 5 and the supply ports 9.
  • Fig. 9 shows the two columns of heaters 102 and associated ink ejection nozzles 5 arranged line-symmetrical, they may be staggered by half-pitch to increase the print resolution.
  • Fig. 10A to Fig. 10D are schematic cross-sectional views showing a process of fabricating the ink jet head of Fig. 9 .
  • the substrate for the circuit board 1 has been described to have a Si crystal orientation of ⁇ 100> in those portions of a surface forming the heaters 102.
  • a SiO 2 layer patterning mask 308 made of an alkali-proof masking material is formed, which is used to form an ink supply port 310.
  • An example process of forming the SiO 2 layer patterning mask 308 is described as follows.
  • a mask material is spread over the entire surface on the back of the circuit board 1 as by spin coating to form the SiO 2 patterning mask 308, which is hardened by heat.
  • a positive resist is spin-coated and dried.
  • the positive resist is subjected to a photolithographic patterning and, with this patterned positive resist as a mask, the exposed part of the patterning mask 308 is removed by dry etching. After this, the positive resist is removed to obtain a desired pattern of the SiO 2 patterning mask 308.
  • a skeleton member 303 is formed on the surface in which the heaters 102 are already formed.
  • the skeleton member 303 is melted away in a later process to form ink paths where it was. That is, to form ink paths of a desired height and a desired plan-view pattern, the skeleton member 303 is formed into a shape of an appropriate height and plan-view pattern.
  • the skeleton member 303 may be formed as follows.
  • a positive photoresist e.g., ODUR1010 (trade name, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd make) is used. This material is applied to the circuit board 1 to a predetermined thickness as by spin coating or in the form of dry film laminate. Next, it is patterned by photolithography using ultraviolet light or deep UV light for exposure and development. Now, the skeleton member 303 of a desired thickness and plan-view pattern is obtained.
  • a material of an orifice plate 4 is spin-coated to cover the skeleton member 303 that was formed on the circuit board 1 in a preceding step, and is then patterned into a desired shape by photolithography.
  • ink ejection openings or nozzles 5 are formed by photolithography.
  • the surface of the orifice plate 4 in which the nozzles 5 are opened is covered with a water repellent layer 306 in the form of dry film laminate.
  • the orifice plate 4 may use a photosensitive epoxy resin and a photosensitive acrylic resin as its material.
  • the orifice plate 4 defines ink paths and, when the ink jet head is in use, is always in contact with ink. So, photo-reactive, cationic polymers are particularly suited for its material. Further, because the durability of the material of the orifice plate 4 can change greatly depending on the kind and characteristic of the ink used, appropriate compounds other than the materials described above may be chosen according to the ink used.
  • a resin protective material 311 is spin-coated to cover the surface of the circuit board 1 in which ink jet head functional elements are already formed and its sidewall surface in order to prevent an etching liquid from contacting these surfaces when forming the ink supply port 310 piercing through the circuit board 1.
  • the protective material 311 must have a sufficient resistance to a strong alkaline solution used during anisotropic etching. By covering the upper surface of the orifice plate 4 with this protective material 311, degradation of the water repellent layer 306 can be avoided.
  • the SiO 2 layer 307 is patterned as by wet etching to form an etch start opening 309 that exposes the back surface of the circuit board 1.
  • the ink supply port 310 is formed by an anisotropic etching with the SiO 2 layer 307 as a mask.
  • a strong alkaline solution such as TMAH (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide) solution, may be used.
  • TMAH tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide
  • a solution of 22 % by weight of TMAH is applied to the Si circuit board 1 from the etch start opening 309 for a predetermined time (for about a dozen hours) by keeping its temperature at 80°C to form a piercing hole.
  • the SiO 2 layer patterning mask 308 and the protective material 311 are removed.
  • the skeleton member 303 is melted and removed from the nozzles 5 and ink supply port 310.
  • the circuit board is then dried.
  • the removal of the skeleton member 303 is effected by exposing the entire surface of the circuit board to a deep UV light and then developing it. During the development, it may be subjected to ultrasonic dipping as required for virtually complete removal of the skeleton member 303.
  • This ink jet head can be mounted not only on such office equipment as printers, copying machines, facsimiles with a communication system and word processors with a printer unit but also on industrial recording apparatus used in combination with a variety of processing devices.
  • the use of this ink jet head enables printing on a variety of print media, including paper, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood and ceramics.
  • a word "print” signifies committing to print media not only significant images such as characters and figures but also nonsignificant images such as patterns.
  • Fig. 11 shows an example construction of an ink jet head unit of cartridge type incorporating the above ink jet head as its constitutional element.
  • denoted 402 is a TAB (tape automated bonding) tape member having terminals to supply electricity to the ink jet head 410.
  • the TAB tape member 402 supplies electric power from the printer body through contacts 403.
  • Designated 404 is an ink tank to supply ink to the head 410.
  • the ink jet head unit of Fig. 11 has a cartridge form and thus can easily be mounted on the printing apparatus.
  • Fig. 12 schematically shows an example construction of an ink jet printing apparatus using the ink jet head unit of Fig. 11 .
  • a carriage 500 is secured to an endless belt 501 and is movable along a guide shaft 502.
  • the endless belt 501 is wound around pulleys 503, 503 one of which is coupled to a drive shaft of a carriage drive motor 504.
  • the carriage 500 is reciprocated along the guide shaft 502 in a main scan direction (indicated by arrow A).
  • the ink jet head unit of a cartridge type is mounted on the carriage 500 in such a manner that the ink ejection nozzles 5 of the head 410 oppose paper P as a print medium and that the direction of the nozzle column agrees with other than the main scan direction (e.g., a subscan direction in which the paper P is fed).
  • a combination of the ink jet head 410 and an ink tank 404 can be provided in numbers that match the number of ink colors used. In the example shown, four combinations are provided to match four colors (e.g., black, yellow, magenta and cyan).
  • a linear encoder 506 to detect an instantaneous position of the carriage in the main scan direction.
  • One of two constitutional elements of the linear encoder 506 is a linear scale 507 which extends in the direction in which the carriage 500 moves.
  • the linear scale 507 has slits formed at predetermined, equal intervals.
  • the other constitutional element of the linear encoder 506 includes a slit detection system 508 having a light emitter and a light sensor, and a signal processing circuit, both provided on the carriage 500.
  • the linear encoder 506 outputs a signal for defining an ink ejection timing and carriage position information.
  • the paper P as a print medium is intermittently fed in a direction of arrow B perpendicular to the scan direction of the carriage 500.
  • the paper is supported by a pair of roller units 509, 510 on an upstream side of the paper feed direction and a pair of roller units 511, 512 on a downstream side so as to apply a constant tension to the paper to form a planar surface for the ink jet head 410 as it is transported.
  • the drive force for the roller units is provided by a paper transport motor not shown.
  • the entire paper is printed by repetitively alternating the printing operation of the ink jet head 410 as the carriage 500 scans and the paper feed operation, each printing operation covering a band of area whose width or height corresponds to a length of the nozzle column in the head.
  • the carriage 500 stops at a home position at the start of a printing operation and, if so required, during the printing operation.
  • a capping member 513 is provided which caps a face of each ink jet head 410 formed with the nozzles (nozzle face).
  • the capping member 513 is connected with a suction-based recovery means (not shown) which forcibly sucks out ink from the nozzles to prevent nozzle clogging.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)

Claims (16)

  1. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre comportant des éléments chauffants destinés à générer de l'énergie thermique pour éjecter une encre lorsqu'ils sont alimentés en énergie ; la plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre comportant :
    un substrat (12) ;
    des premières électrodes (101) ayant une direction parallèle à la surface du substrat faisant face aux premières électrodes avec entre elles un intervalle dans lequel l'élément chauffant est formé ;
    des secondes électrodes (103) ayant entre elles un intervalle plus large que l'intervalle des premières électrodes et chevauchant les premières électrodes ; et
    une couche (107) de résistance formée sur les premières électrodes et les secondes électrodes incluant l'intervalle des premières électrodes et l'intervalle des secondes électrodes ;
    dans laquelle, dans une direction perpendiculaire à ladite surface, les premières électrodes ont une épaisseur inférieure à celle des secondes électrodes ;
    caractérisée en ce qu'une partie de la couche de résistance correspondant à l'élément chauffant et les premières électrodes sont disposées sur le même plan parallèle à ladite surface.
  2. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon la revendication 1, dans laquelle ladite couche de résistance est en contact direct avec les premières électrodes et forme un élément chauffant dans l'intervalle entre lesdites premières électrodes.
  3. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans laquelle les premières électrodes (101) sont formées d'un métal résistant à la corrosion.
  4. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon la revendication 3, dans laquelle le métal résistant à la corrosion comprend du Ta, du Pt ou un alliage contenant au moins l'un d'eux.
  5. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon la revendication 4, dans laquelle une couche de SiC est formée en tant que couche sous-jacente des premières électrodes (101).
  6. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon la revendication 3, dans laquelle le métal résistant à la corrosion est du TiW.
  7. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6, comprenant en outre une couche de fils d'électrodes (104) formée sur une couche protectrice (109) formée sur les secondes électrodes (103) et connectée électriquement aux secondes électrodes.
  8. Plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 7, dans laquelle l'épaisseur des premières électrodes (101) dans une direction perpendiculaire à ladite surface est égale ou inférieure à 100 nm.
  9. Procédé de fabrication d'une plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre, dans lequel la plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre comporte des éléments chauffants destinés à générer de l'énergie thermique pour éjecter de l'encre lorsqu'ils sont alimentés en énergie ; le procédé comprenant les étapes qui consistent :
    à former sur un substrat des premières électrodes (101) ayant, dans une direction parallèle à la surface du substrat faisant face aux premières électrodes, un intervalle entre elles dans lequel l'élément chauffant doit être formé ;
    à former sur les premières électrodes une couche pour des secondes électrodes (103), les secondes électrodes ayant, dans une direction perpendiculaire à ladite surface, une épaisseur supérieure à celle des premières électrodes, puis à enlever de la couche une partie d'intervalle plus grande dans une direction parallèle à ladite surface que l'intervalle des premières électrodes afin de former des secondes électrodes, la partie d'intervalle ayant ses extrémités situées au-dessus des premières électrodes ; et
    à former une couche de résistance (107) sur les premières électrodes et les secondes électrodes incluant l'intervalle des premières électrodes et l'intervalle des secondes électrodes,
    caractérisé en ce qu'une partie de la couche de résistance correspondant à l'élément chauffant et les premières électrodes sont disposées sur le même plan parallèle à ladite surface.
  10. Procédé selon la revendication 9, caractérisé en ce que ladite couche de résistance est en contact direct avec les premières électrodes et forme un élément chauffant dans l'intervalle entre lesdites premières électrodes.
  11. Procédé selon la revendication 9 ou 10, dans lequel les premières électrodes sont formées d'un métal résistant à la corrosion.
  12. Procédé selon la revendication 11, comprenant en outre une étape consistant à appliquer une couche de SiC sur le substrat avant la formation des premières électrodes.
  13. Procédé selon la revendication 12, dans lequel l'étape de formation des premières électrodes comporte une étape consistant à déposer une couche pour les premières électrodes en utilisant du Ta, du Pc ou un alliage contenant au moins l'un d'eux, et une étape consistant à façonner suivant un motif la couche par une attaque à sec pour former les premières électrodes.
  14. Procédé selon la revendication 11, dans lequel l'étape de formation des premières électrodes comprend une étape consistant à déposer une couche pour les premières électrodes en utilisant du TiW et une étape consistant à attaquer la couche à l'aide d'une solution aqueuse contenant du peroxyde d'hydrogène en tant que constituant principal pour former les premières électrodes.
  15. Procédé selon l'une quelconque de la revendication 9 à la revendication 14, comprenant en outre une étape consistant à appliquer une couche de fils d'électrodes (104) sur une couche protectrice (109) formée sur les secondes électrodes (103) et à la connecter électriquement aux secondes électrodes.
  16. Tête à jet d'encre comportant :
    une plaquette à circuit pour tête à jet d'encre selon l'une quelconque de la revendication 1 à la revendication 8 ; et
    des gicleurs d'éjection d'encre correspondants aux éléments chauffants.
EP05017619A 2004-08-16 2005-08-12 Circuit imprimé pour tête d'impression à jet d'encre, procédé de sa fabrication, et tête d'impression à jet d'encre l'utilisant Expired - Fee Related EP1627744B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

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JP2004236606A JP4208794B2 (ja) 2004-08-16 2004-08-16 インクジェットヘッド用基板、該基板の製造方法および前記基板を用いるインクジェットヘッド

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EP1627744A1 EP1627744A1 (fr) 2006-02-22
EP1627744B1 true EP1627744B1 (fr) 2008-05-21

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US (1) US7862155B2 (fr)
EP (1) EP1627744B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP4208794B2 (fr)
KR (1) KR100778158B1 (fr)
CN (1) CN1736717B (fr)
DE (1) DE602005006913D1 (fr)

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US20060033779A1 (en) 2006-02-16
KR100778158B1 (ko) 2007-11-22
CN1736717B (zh) 2010-05-05
JP2006051771A (ja) 2006-02-23
JP4208794B2 (ja) 2009-01-14
US7862155B2 (en) 2011-01-04
DE602005006913D1 (de) 2008-07-03
EP1627744A1 (fr) 2006-02-22
CN1736717A (zh) 2006-02-22
KR20060050415A (ko) 2006-05-19

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